I'll leave them to the river Hjolifur thought. The reasoning was that having Zora think of him as some old perverted stalker wouldn't quite help make the journey pleasant. Especially for a nord like him, much of his pride was from that people would remember him in a positive way after his death. So creeping up onto some river wasn't the best idea. Hjolifur also had to watch his meat.

This snow will just have to serve me passed through his head and he lay one hide, fur up, on the snow in front of the fire and slowly but firmly rubbed and kneaded the hide into the snow below it. The hides he collected were much cleaner than that of the Ice Troll to begin with, so he finished most of the first hide before his first spit of meat was roasted. he pulled it off and ate a good two pounds of it before stacking the rest on the other-side of the fire from the raw meat. Cooked meat travels well and is less dense than raw meat, so he threw another spit on and continued to clean the hides. "There is some FRESH meat here if anyone wants it."

OOC: Sorry for my absence I've been dealing with some personal problems the last couple of days. Anyway...

BIC:

Nathaniel Leinheart - Forest

As Nathaniel gazed out again Hjolifur blinded the young man causing him to grab at his eyes as he fell back. As Nathaniel clawed at his eyes waiting for them to readjust he wondered why Hjolifur blinded him. Several minutes later Nathaniel was able to see clearly so he gathered himself and rose out of the 'Tiger Blind'.

Surveying the scene Nathaniel saw that both Sora and Hjolifur had each made a kill. Unhappy that he hadn't gotten a chance to prove himself Nathaniel returned to crouching behind the 'Tiger Blind'. waited until each made their way back to the campsite. Emerging from the his position Nathaniel skulked off deeper into the forest hoping to encounter some dangerous Skyrim beast to bag.

After wandering the woods for a time with no dangerous critters in sight Nathaniel was ready to give up. Following his tracks back Nathaniel didn't notice the mountain lion that had been stalking him until it was to late. The lion sprung from it's hiding place claws outstretched. Nathaniel had no time to react as the predator knocked him off of his feet. The lion raised it's paw to administer the death blow but Nathaniel released a small fireball into the beast's face. The attack left the creature unfazed so it prepared to strike again. Nathaniel let loose several fireballs in repetition. The barrage got the lion to jump off of Nathaniel allowing him to gather himself.

Springing up Nathaniel removed both of his shortswords from their respective scabbards then braced himself for combat. The lion cautiously circled the area waiting for Nathaniel to make the first move. Using the break in the battle Nathaniel augmented himself with speed and shield magic as he was without his armor.

Like a lightning bolt Nathaniel surged toward the lion his blades outstretched. The lion dodged the attack as Nathaniel's blades cut nothing but air. With his momentum still carrying him forward Nathaniel somehow spun around and managed to thrust his blade into the ground to slow himself down. The lion taking advantage charged trying to catch Nathaniel off guard. Nathaniel swiftly withdrew his blade from the snow then crossed his blades effectively repelling the lion's attack. With the lion's attack being ineffective it tried to backpedal out of Nathaniel's range. It was to late as Nathaniel's elven shortsword, 'Varscona' cut the mighty cat causing it to bellow in rage. The fire enchantment on the blade then burned the cat forcing the proud beast to it's knees.

Nathaniel was about to take advantage of the creature's weakness but as he rushed forward he felt a wave of exhaustion come over him which stopped him cold. Falling to one knee Nathaniel used his other blade, 'Kondar' to hold himself up. "D...Damn..thought...spell..last....longer.", Nathaniel whispered to himself. Rapidly Nathaniel formulated a course of action to end the battle in his favor

The lion rose then began zigzagging over to Nathaniel though the creature was moving far more slowly which showed that the creature was in a degree of pain. Nathaniel stood up leaving his second blade in the snow, he then took several steps back waiting to spring his trap on the lion. The lion bounded past the spot where Nathaniel had left his sword leaving him with only a few precious seconds to act. Judging from the lion's current location he would act in three...two...NOW!

The lion leapt tackling Nathaniel to the ground causing him further injury. What the lion didn't realize was that Nathaniel had used telekinesis magic to remove the sword he had left behind. He was now motioning the blade with his left hand over to where the lion's head was. Nathaniel tried to use his other hand to keep the creature from killing him before his trap was sprung but the lion was using it's paws to pin his arms down. The lion leaned into Nathaniel's face it's mouth wide open saliva dripped onto his face. Finally the sword was in place just overhead of the lion. Using as much force as he could he brought the blade down piercing the lion's skull killing it instantly. The beast's body collapsed onto Nathaniel.

Breathing a sigh of relief Nathaniel hefted the lion off of him then slowly got back to his feet. Wincing in pain Nathaniel checked the damage he had taken. There were several deep cuts from the lion on his chest, shoulders, and arms other than that he was unharmed. With his magicka low Nathaniel was forced to remove the magic he was using to keep himself warm in order to heal the wounds he had sustained during the battle. Once he was finished Nathaniel grabbed the dead lion's tail dragging it along behind him as he made his way to retrieve his clothes. The going was slow as the lion's carcass forced Nathaniel to travel at a snail's pace.

An hour passed before Nathaniel made it back to where he had left his personal effects. His magicka had not fully returned but he had enough to carefully pull his garments and personal effects from the tree. Vowing to wash in the morning Nathaniel dressed himself then picked up the dead lion once more and resumed his trek back to camp.

Unsure how much time had passed when Nathaniel saw the plume of smoke nearby he redoubled his efforts to get back into camp. Exhausted and quite grumpy Nathaniel reached the camp grounds. Dragging the lion before those at the campfire he dropped the carcass near the campfire before sitting down.

"Ran into a spot of trouble sorry I disappeared." Oh yeah anyway have a hunting knife I can borrow so I can carve this critter up?"

OOC: Sorry it took a while to post, been busy today. Welcome back btw hircine21. :thumbsup:

"Bravil eh?" Sora said, "I like Bravil. It has... character." She pulled her hands out of the water and shoved them in the folds of her jacket, careful to make sure that the hide wasn't pulled downstream. She couldn't feel much in her hands after having them in the icy water for so long.

"So," Sora asked, shivering a little as her freezing hands touched her skin, "How do we know when this thing is clean?"

"Eh I think this is good enough." He said back while looking over the fur. "Most of it is clean now, and the smell should atleast be a little bit better than it was." He tightly rolled the fur back up with Sora's help, then thanked her for helping him out with cleaning it. "Would have been a pain trying to do this all by myself." Trannigan threw the fur back over his shoulder then asked her if she was ready to head back. She nodded her head yes and the two began walking back. "By the way, I have a few extra potions in my pack if you would like one for her stomach, I have 2 extra bottles so it is no loss to my supplies. Plus I planned on getting more once we arrive in Whiterun anyways." He said to her as he walked beside her, hoping that it did not sound as if he was trying to take pity upon her injury. while waiting for her response he gazed up at Masser and Secunda as they walked, aswell as the many nebula that floated in the night time sky. Trannigan always did enjoy looking up at the night sky. He wondered if the old stories were true that each star was left there by the gods themselves. When they arrived back at camp Trannigan placed the now washed fur back on the stand to dry out.

A few minutes later, an injured Nathanial came trudging up, dragging a dead mountain lion by it's tail. "Ran into a spot of trouble sorry I disappeared." He said, letting go of the tail and looking at the group. "Oh yeah anyway have a hunting knife I can borrow so I can carve this critter up?"


"Yeah man, I have one. Here ya are." Said Trannigan while he handed him one of his knives. "Looks like you got into some battle with that thing, ya look like hell." He said honestly, noticing the many deep scratches on Nathanials body. Here, take one of these." Trannigan said to him and gave Nathanial the other extra bottle of potion that he had.

Sora refused Trannigan's offer of Health Potions. "It's nothing to worry about," She said, "Just a bit of bruising. I plan to buy some in Winterhold anyway. Thanks for the offer though."

The two of them reached the camp, and Sora returned to where she had been sitting earlier, grateful for the warmth of the fire. The feeling was just returning to her hands, when Nathaniel showed up, bloodied and exhausted, and dumped a dead mountain lion on the ground. He apologised for taking so long, before asking for a knife, which Trannigan supplied him with.

Sora's eyelids were becoming unbearably heavy, and she looked up at the sky. The position of the stars and the moons told her it was getting pretty late, and she craved the warmth and comfort of her bedroll. She looked around the campsite for a good place to rest, and spotted a clear area far from the fire near a massive boulder.

"I'm going to bed now, guys," She said to no-one in particular, "Goodnight." Sora snatched up her pack and moved over to the boulder. First, she unbuckled a mat woven from flax, and unrolled it across the snow. It would keep melted snow from seeping into her bedroll, which she unrolled over the mat. Sora removed her jacket, her boots, and her fur helmet and shoved them in her pack, before removing her weapons' belt and placing it beside her bedroll. She climbed in, and looked up at the sky. She didn't have a cover to shield her from the elements, but the campsite was fairly sheltered from the wind, and what little clouds hung in the sky didn't threaten to burst any time soon.

Sora closed her eyes, enveloping herself in darkness, and soon fell into an exhausted sleep.

After a while, Nathaniel came back. He's in rough shape. Maybe we should have waited for him? passed through Hjolifur's mind. However, he just looked up and offered Nathaniel some meat. Much of the meat was already cooked, as Hjolifur and built the fire up a little bit once he had finished cleaning the hides, and so he was full.

"If anyone wants some meat, come take it now" He called. Nobody answered very quickly, and so Hjolifur slowly carried loads of it back and forth over to the part of the caravan used for food storage. Hjolifur laid what was left on a thin rock, and dropped the rock in the side of the fire. If Kyne so wished, the meat would cook. If it burned or stayed raw, they didn't need it anyway.

Finally, as he was getting ready to go to sleep, Hjolifur realized that Sora was laying out, exposed to the elements. She must me insane he thought, An elf from Cyrodiil? We'll have to thaw her in the morning. The nord grabbed the hides he had just cleaned – they were dry from being near the fire and still were a little warm – and carefully lay them over Sora so as to keep her warm.

He then rolled out his own stuff on the other sie of camp and stared into the stars until sleep set in. He figured that the fire would keep most animals away and most animals out in the woods avoid large groups of people anyway.

"I am full for the night Hjolifur. Thanks though."

Trannigan walked back to the area that he had been sitting at near the fire earlier, and made himself a place to lay down for the night. Pulling his fur out of his pack, he layed it onto the cleared grass, then layed down on the fur. He used the clothes he was wearing earlier as a pillow then pulled the fur around himself, tucking it tight around himself. Yawning loudly, he lifted a hand in the air and gave a wave to no one imparticular. "Good night all." With that, he closed his eyes and nodded off a few minutes later.

Cordus looked up as the Imperial called Nathaniel wandered into camp, bloody and carrying a dead mountain lion. "Woah, dude, that thing jacked you up! You okay?" He looked around as he said it and noticed everyone going to sleep. He said, "So it's bed time now? All right then, I'll join in." With that, he pulled out his bedroll from his pack and laid it out. He had gone through the process of having it enchanted before he left Cyrodiil, so he wasn't worried about the snow getting it wet, or him freezing to death overnight. He climbed inside the bedroll and rested hi shead onthe rest of his supplies. He gingerly set his lute down over his head and said, "Nighty-night, dudes! Don't let the bedbugs bite! Or, you know, the wolves and stuff bite. 'Cause then you might get rabies or something.""With that comment, Cordus closed his eyes and drifted off into the random world of his dreams.

Juhanor - Campsite

Juhanor watched as, one by one, the members of his party fell asleep. First Sora, then Hjolifur (after covering Sora up), Trannigan, and Cordus. Soon, only Juhanor, the silent Argonian, Nathaniel, and Octavius were still awake. Probably won't need to sleep for a while, Juhanor pondered as he sat by the fire, that technique still does wonders... I suppose that I will watch the camp for the night, make sure nothing creeps up on us

Juhanor started to walk over to the open back of the wagon, motioning to the others to follow if they wished. Vaulting up into the wagon, Juhanor took out Vaba and unstrung it. Replacing the bow in its holster, Juhanor propped himself up into a corner of the vehicle that gave him full view of the campsite and those who were sleeping. How rookie is that? Juhanor thought to himself We really should have set up watches; we obviously need to learn some communication skills.

Juhanor reached around behind himself and pulled out the Ice Troll's paw, trying to visualize how it could be properly used in the flowing combat style unique to the Khajiiti of Elsweyr. If I end up using the whole thing, it is definitely going to change the speed of my blows... I'll have to put more power into each assault, which will tire me out... I guess I will have to see if I can re-line my caestus with the fur, then if the claws can be tacked on somehow... might sell the rest if it is no good.

Juhanor replaced the hand into his rope-sack and cracked his knuckles. Man, this is going to be a hell of a boring night. He then returned his gaze into the nighttime Campsite, and silently awaited first morning's light.

OOC: Nathaniel has already healed his wounds and you can't see the scratches unless you can see through clothes. Nathaniel redressed himself before coming to camp.

Nathaniel Leinheart - Campsite

"Yeah man, I have one. Here ya are." Said Trannigan while he handed him one of his knives.

Nathaniel nodded toward his fellow Imperial, "Thanks."

"Looks like you got into some battle with that thing, ya look like hell. Here, take one of these.", the imperial said offering Nathaniel a healing potion.

"Thanks for the offer friend, but I've already tended to my wounds.", Nathaniel said as he replaced the liquid in Trannigan's hand.

Nathaniel then spent the next hour skinning the lion. When he was finished he had collected the pelt, meat, claws, and teeth. Nathaniel placed the claws and teeth into the small pouch on his pelt. Heading back to the wagon he had been sleeping in he retrieved an empty rucksack bag which Nathaniel deposited the slabs of meat in. Returning to the caravan Nathaniel left the rucksack bag and the lion pelt within. Nathaniel then dragged the remains of the lion away from the campsite which he dropped at the edge of the woods.

Famished from his work Nathaniel returned to the campfire and collected several pieces of cooked meat that had been left. Eating voraciously Nathaniel almost choked on the first bite. Eating more slowly Nathaniel downed four pieces of the meat before he was satisfied. Drained from the evening's activities Nathaniel decided to call it a night. Walking past Trannigan Nathaniel placed the knife he had been loaned beside the man before retiring to the caravan. Nathaniel draqed the lion pelt over himself and quickly went off to sleep.

Octavius, Caravan

Octavius sat in silence as he listened to the small talk between the others whilst casting small fire spells to keep himself warm, although the fire was quite large and sufficient at doing this on its own. His head raised a little as one of them, he couldn't recall his name, walked back into the camp with multiple wounds and what looked like a dead mountain lion dragging behind him. Octavius just shook his head with a silent chuckle and went back to staring into the fire without much thought. He wasn't tired at all, seeing as how he had slept for much of the ride and that he had saved his energy by not going out to hunt.

So when people started going to sleep, one by one, he knew it was going to be on him to watch over the camp as they slept. He didn't mind really, as he had spent countless nights in the wild, to alert to sleep after being forced to sneak around a camp of bandits or if he knew there were goblins in the area. Plus, now that it had cleared up, he was enjoying the rugged beauty of the landscape around him, as the gentle light from Masser and Secunda bathed the snow-covered ground with just enough light to make out the forms of dead trees and large snow drifts.

As he was searching for a place to sit the night out, he saw that the Khajiit apparently was not ready for sleep either, as he motioned for anyone to follow him before jumping onto the roof of one of the covered wagons. Octavius looked around quickly before picking his pack and holster up out of the snow and following the Khajiit's steps. He tossed his bag into the wagon itself but brought his crossbow and the belt pouch of bolts with him and he nimbly climbed up next to the Khajiit.

He settled himself quickly, sitting cross-legged and placing the small weapon and pouch between his legs. "Thank gods someone else thought to take watch." he said quietly to the Khajiit with a laugh. "Juhanor, right?" he asked, thinking he remembered the name from earlier.

Juhanor - Campsite

Juhanor silently watched as Nathaniel drifted off to sleep, and then as Octavius climbed up next to him on the wagon. As he set down the crossbow and what was probably a bag of bolts next to him, Octavius stated "Thank gods someone else thought to take watch.... Juhanor, right?"

"You are correct, good sir," Juhanor replied with a small smirk, "in both matters, to be exact. This one has just finished resting his mind and body for the night, so Juhanor figured that setting up a watch in this frozen wasteland would be a good idea indeed. This one doesn't particularly want a repeat of the Ice Troll's attack, especially with more than half of our group drifiting in dream land."

Juhanor looked in the direction of the fire, and the people who had fallen asleep surrounding it. "That flame is going to play hell with their night vision, if any trouble arises, though. We really should have come up with some kind of plan; this one does figure that it is only our first night together as a group, so there is plenty of room for improvement, hopefully."

Juhanor turned his attention back to Octavius. "This one's mother always said he worried too much for a Khajiiti," Juhanor said as he laughed off the seriousness of the matter, "so enough of that! Tell me a little about yourself, Octavius; where do you hail from, why are you here, and what can you do to contribute to the group?"

Waiting for a reply, Juhanor unlooped the cording that secured his throwing knives to his thigh, and started to inspect them one by one, making sure all ten were properly balanced, ready to be flung at a moment's notice.

Octavius, Caravan

Octavius was glad he got the Khajiit's name correct and he nodded in agreement that he didn't fancy a visit by trolls or any other nasty visitor during the night. Even with the two of them awake at watch, there was still a risk of the others being hurt before they get a chance to wake up in the event of an attack. He shrugged at the comment of the fire affecting their night vision; he knew little of beasts like trolls, and in fact he had never encountered one before. The worst he had seen during his travels was probably the reptilian Clannfear, or the animated dead when he helped the Mages Guild on occasion.

At first he was confused by the way the Khajiit spoke of "this one", and he found himself glancing around slightly before he remembered a Fighters Guild member who was a Khajiit and did the same thing. It didn't annoy him so much as it confused him, as it was a fact that constantly slipped his mind, especially since the more cosmopolitan Khajiiti had dropped the habit of third-person speaking.

"I can only assume that by the time we reach the deepest parts of the ruins, we will be a well oiled machine." he said with a laugh, as he considered the question of his origins. "Just your average small time country boy here." he said with a grin. "Anvil area, just to the east in a little farming community. I'm here because the farm went under and well... Poverty was no life for me, or my family who I send back for every now and then when I can spare it."

It was just one of his many well-drilled lies about his previous life; one that he had used dozens of times with various, non-related people he met on his travels. "I guess what I bring to this group is nothing special." he said with a shrug and a chuckle. "This," he said, holding up his miniature crossbow, "is useless one anything other than humans who feel pain, unlike the undead. If that fails, I'm quite adept at several forms of magick, most useful being Destruction. Picked some good training up while doing some work in Skingrad from the masters there." he lied again, as he had really learned magick form his uncle when he was a teen, though he had indeed strengthened it whilst working in the Guild.

"How about you? Do you hail from Cyrodiil, or from Elsweyr?" he asked.

Juhanor - Campsite

"How about you? Do you hail from Cyrodiil, or from Elsweyr?" Octavius asked, as Juhanor finished inspecting his throwing knives and had replaced the holster on his left thigh. Scratching behind his ears, Juhanor reached around for his bow, and started to check it over for any damage from the previous fight. Finding none, Juhanor turned back to Octavius.

"Juhanor hails from Elsweyr," he said, as a light smile slipped across his face, "my tribe traveled around a lot, never really stayed in one place for long." Juhanor's smirk faded as quickly as it had shown up. Taking off his caestus, Juhanor showed Octavius the circular scars around his wrists. "Once, when this one and his tribe were hunting near the borders of Valenwood, some Bosmer renrij tried to enslave Juhanor and a few Senches."

Juhanor replaced the gauntlets, covering the scars back up. "They were rookie, though, and this one and his tribe-brothers broke out of the chains," Juhanor said, his grin reappearing, "let Juhanor give you one piece of advice, Octavius: don't ever get between a group of pissed off Senches and a tasty meal!"

"Afterwards, this one trained in the styles of Whispering Claw, Goutfang, and Rawlith Khaj. Learned how to fight with these," Juhanor pointed to his kukri and throwing blades, "and the bow. This one is well versed in the arts of death, although death is not what this one seeks to deliver; Juhanor much prefers peace over violence."

"Juhanor left Elsweyr and my tribe after reaching advlthood," Juhanor remembered, "traveled about, freeing those who weren't fortunate enough to have a pack of Senches with them as this one had. Eventually, this one reached the Imperial City, and met a Breton Noble who had fallen on hard times; Juhanor aided him in exchange for knowledge, a thing which I needed desperately. Being able to only speak Ta'agra wasn't exactly useful in the outside world, if you know what I mean."

"That is essentially it," Juhanor cheerily stated, "now you know Juhanor, and Juhanor knows you! So good to meet you, Octavius from Anvil." Juhanor flexed his muscles, waiting for daylight to hurry along. "By S'rendarr, I wish the day would come. This night is seeming to take forever!" Juhanor looked over at Octavius. "We need something to do to kill the time!"

Xa-Raku - Campsite

Unable to concentrate anymore with the commotion and just general chill, Xa-Raku took an unused blanket from the wagon, returning to his spot by the fire and covering himself up before trying to get some sleep. It wasn't easy, the weather was relentlessly chilly. Still, the warm meal managed to help things along, and he found himself beginning to drift off. Hopefully the others on watch would not have to wake him.

OOC: So do we still want that OOC thread guys? I'll make one if we do.

IC: Trannigan woke up about three hours after he had originally fallen asleep.Noticing that it was still dark out, he glanced up at the sky thinking to himself. I hate these long Skyrim nights... rise already sun! He let out a yawn then sat up, letting his eyes adjust to being awake again. Looking around the camp area. Trannigan noticed Juhanor and Octavious up on a perch, keeping watch over the group. "Ah damn... I have been on my own for so long I didn't even think about staying up to help keep an eye out on everyone..." He muttered to himself, then quickly stood up and walked over to where the two were.

"Hey guys. How goes the shifts?" He asked as he hoisted himself up to where they were, taking a seat near them and letting his gaze fall onto the distant trees. The quiet noise of only the cold night time winds made him want to go sleep more, but he felt a pang of lazy guilt for not atleast volunteering to help out earlier. He let out another tired yawn then shook his head, trying to wake himself all the way up.

OOC: Apparently we are skipping ahead 3 hours Master Thief.... So I think an awkward silence should do the trick


Octavius, Caravan

Octavius listened with an expression of sorrow about Juhanor almost becoming a slave. 'Tavius had never enjoyed slavery, nor had his parents, but he had never really voiced his opinion on it nor had he
thought of how it could actually affect people like Juhanor who clearly had a family and friends just like Octavius.

Juhanor replaced the gauntlets, covering the scars back up. "They were rookie, though, and this one and his tribe-brothers broke out of the chains," Juhanor said, his grin reappearing, "let Juhanor give you one piece of advice, Octavius: don't ever get between a group of pissed off Senches and a tasty meal!"

Octavius laughed at this and nodded in approval when he learned the Khajiit had taught the slavers a lesson and he whistled in a low tone when he discovered the tiger-man had learned such ancient and powerful martial arts.

"That is quite an impressive life you have lived so far, Juhanor of Somewhere-in-Elsweyr." he said with a laugh. "I have no real talents in story telling or poetry, so unfortunately I cannot keep us busy that way. I travel alone generally and I've learned, oddly enough, to fall into a trance-like state of rest but to be quite alert at the same time." he said, scrunching up his face to try and explain it. It was a skill he had learned after many sleepless nights out in the wild that allowed him to be alert of his surroundings when in extra-hostile land, but that allowed his brain to rest sufficiently to let him carry on the next day.

He fell silent at this, and as time passed, his sight went fuzzy as his brain fell into the state of "alert-rest" as he liked to call it. Once again, he proved how alert he was, when one of the group members woke up and Octavius' already open eyes focused in on who he remembered to be Trannigan.

"The watch is fine, thank you. I slept on the way here." he explained. He saw the man, who had clambered up next to them, yawn while trying to stifle it and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Go back to sleep friend. You have two pairs of quality eyes watching over you tonight." he said with a laugh.

OOC: Awkward silence is the way to go! Also, Trannigan, if you want to make an OOC thread, do it up. It would definitely be helpful.

IC.

Juhanor - Campsite

Juhanor watched as Octavius went into a half-sleep. Not unlike my own, Juhanor thought, although his seems to be more from traveling, as he said, and less from training, like mine. As Octavius "slept," Juhanor stood up for a few moments, stretching his limbs as he stayed attent towards the darkness. Juhanor looked over to Octavius, who was still "sleeping," but appeared alert. I think I will wander around the edges of the camp for a bit, make sure everything is alright, Juhanor thought to himself, as he lithely slid off of the wagon. Landing softly on the ground, Juhanor walked over to the storage area of the wagon, removed his rope-sack, quiver, and bow, and placed them next to the rest of the group's gear.

Turning north, Juhanor quickly loped about the small campsite, not finding much, aside from the path that lead back to the Ice Troll's remains. As he stared at the path, Juhanor remembered Cordus saying something about wanting a trophy from the body. This one has an idea, Juhanor thought, and raced off into the scraggly underbrush. As he sped down the trail, Juhanor inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent that the pine trees gave off. A few minutes later, Juhanor found the body of the troll. Apparently, either the wolves hadn't found the corpse yet, or the overwhelming stench was too much for them to bear, as the only wounds on the Troll's body were those that Juhanor and the others had inflicted upon it. Juhanor slid his left kukri blade out of its chest-sheath.

Lifting up the head, Juhanor opened the beast's maw, trying to ignore the horrible smell that wafted out of its mouth. Setting his feet, Juhanor angled his knife downwards, aiming the sharp point at the place on the creature's jaw where the jawbone met the cranium. "Haa!" Juhanor shouted, slamming the blade into the tissue that connected the two pieces of bone. The force of the blow, coupled with the sharpness of the shortsword, quickly severed the connection, leaving the Troll's mouth dangling comically from one side. "Idiotic!" Juhanor laughed. Turning the head to the other side, Juhanor repeated the action, sending the bone and its deadly looking teeth caroming into the snow.

Juhanor deftly snatched the now severed jaw bone from the snow, shaking off the clumps of blood that remained stuck upon it. Juhanor placed the bone in his pocket, and then picked up a handful of snow, which he used to wipe off the gore that covered the deadly tool. Resheathing the blade, Juhanor looked up into the sky, trying to calculate how long it had been since he left the camp. Hour? Hour and a half? Better head back. Juhanor moved back to the camp, circled 'round it once more, and finding nothing, returned to his spot on the wagon next to 'Tavius.

As he sat back down, Juhanor noticed someone stirring next to the campfire. Who is that? Juhanor thought, as the person stood up, yawning. Ah, Trannigan.

Trannigan looked over towards the wagon, noticing Juhanor and Octavius perched atop it. Climbing up, Trannigan asked how the watch was going. Octavius, snapping awake, told Trannigan that all was well, and that he should go back to sleep.

"Yes, Trannigan, you do look tired," Juhanor mentioned with concern, "you really should stay well rested; as Octavius said, he is well rested from the wagon ride and his waking sleep; this one, on the other hand, spent some time relaxing his body earlier, with the training provided to him by his martial arts teachers."

"Of course," Juhanor laughed, "you are a grown man; if you would like to keep us company, stay up here. It is one hell of a party!"

"The watch is fine, thank you. I slept on the way here." Octavius explained while giving Trannigan a pat on the shoulder. "Go back to sleep friend. You have two pairs of quality eyes watching over you tonight." he said with a laugh.

"Yes, Trannigan, you do look tired," Juhanor mentioned with concern, "you really should stay well rested; as Octavius said, he is well rested from the wagon ride and his waking sleep; this one, on the other hand, spent some time relaxing his body earlier, with the training provided to him by his martial arts teachers."

"Of course," Juhanor laughed, "you are a grown man; if you would like to keep us company, stay up here. It is one hell of a party!"

"I will be ok, thanks though." Trannigan said to them after letting out one more small yawn. "It just takes me a few minutes to completely wake up is all." He mumbled. Trannigan bent his neck with hands to crack the stiffness out of it, then grabbed a handful of snow, rubbing it into his face with his hands. The icy feeling against his skin immediately sent Trannigan into a proper state of alertness and he let out a deep breath. "Ahhhh, that helped alot!" He said, giving a little laugh then looking around the area again. "It sure is nice up here." He said to them while admiring the quiet wilderness. "It's just too bad its so damned cold." He wrapped his fur tighter around himself as he said that then looked up into the sky as he had earlier.

Cordus Leon's house wasn't what Sora had expected. She had thought it would be a massive, luxurious place designed for entertaining guests and being able to hide comfortably from his adoring fans, complete with Minotaur heads hanging from the wall. In fact, it resembled her childhood friend's middle class house in Cheydinhal; no one would guess that this was the house of a famous bard and adventurer. Sora had no idea as to why she was here, or even how she got here from the camp in Skyrim, but Cordus, who was relaxing in a chair by the fireplace, seemed to pay no attention to her.
A harsh knock on the door broke through the crackling of the fire. Cordus's head whipped up, and a confused expression crossed his face. He got up from his chair, and strolled over to open the door. The door opened with a small creak, and a look of horror crawled slowly onto Cordus's face. At the door, Sora saw, was a long line of women snaking off into the distance. And each of those women were clutching the hands of children with familiar bright blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair. "Daddy!" The children cried in unison...

Sora awoke muffling giggles. The dream was so fitting, considering some of the rumors she'd heard. Whether these rumors were true remained to be seen, but the dream was amusing nevertheless. Sora forced her eyes open, and noted that it was still fairly dark. Ugh, I must've only managed about four hour's sleep, she thought sourly. She felt unusually warm too, and sitting up, she discovered that someone had placed a pelt over her, obviously to keep away the cold. Sora didn't know whether to be thankful, as she knew that someone was looking out for her, or offended that someone thought that she had come underprepared. Either way, she threw the pelt off her bedroll, leaving it to sit in the snow.

Sora looked towards the east, where the colours of the sky signalled that the sun was beginning to rise. She knew she wasn't going to get back to sleep now, so there was no point trying. Sora noticed Juhanor, Trannigan and Octavius gathered by the caravan, so at least she wasn't going to be alone. She packed up her bedroll before taking her bag down to the stream that Trannigan had discovered the night before.

On the way, Sora contemplated her current situation. I'm in the middle of Skyrim with a bunch of men, she thought. Being the only woman didn't bother her, as she often got along better with men, it just created a few tiny problems. For example, she had to be discreet about how and where she changed clothes, not that this was the sort of place that you exposed your skin for too long. I'm not about to go traipsing about in my underwear, she thought, but I'm going to have to change my clothes at some point. This place has been fine, as there's loads of places to conceal myself, but it might not be so easy once we reach the dungeon. Sora pondered it for a while, but soon dismissed the thought once she reached the stream, realising that there were more important things to worry about.

Sora reached down and splashed the freezing water on her face, hoping it would wake her up. She then, somewhat reluctantly, patted herself down a little with water in an effort to remove some of the plant she had rubbed over herself last night. Sora changed into her mismatched armor, and made her way back to the camp.

"Morning boys," She said as she approached the caravan. She dumped her pack in the snow and leaned against the wagon where the men were perched, watching the sky as it slowly changed colours with the rising sun.

Trannigan settled into the spot that he was sitting, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible. He tucked his hands into his warm clothes, and let his eyelids shut as he slipped into his thoughts. He thought about what types of dangers the group would potentially face as they kept on their journey to Saarthal. He also thought about his mother and father back in cyrodiil, and how it had been a while since he had heard from his mother. Because she was a skilled mage, she had the ability to talk to him telepathically; although he could not communicate back, since the only arcane ability he had was with destruction magick.
Trannigan wasn't sure how long he had been sitting with his thoughts but he snapped back into focus when he heard the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow.

"Morning boys." Sora spoke as she walked towards the caravan. she tossed her pack onto the snow then leaned against the caravan, gazing up into the sky, which was finally starting to brighten with the coming dawn.

"Morning." He replied, then looked out at the distance to notice that the sun was rising too. "Finally!" He hopped off the caravan and went to the camp fire, stoking the flames a little, he took some of the carribou meat from the sack and placed it near the fire to cook. Trannigan paced slowly around the campfire then while waiting on his food to cook, then grabbed it up when it smelled as though it was cooked enough. He hungrily wolfed the hunk of meat down and let out a sigh of content when he had finished, happy to have a full stomach again. The thing that Trannigan hated about Skyrim's fridgid weather was how quickly his appetite seemed to come back after meals.

Trannigan walked back to where the others were and climbed back up onto the caravan's roof, looking out in the distance to survey the area.

OOC: Sweet merciful Lord, you guys have done a crack job! Sorry I've been gone. I had....something to deal with. Honestly, I was expecting to come back and this be on the fourth page or something. Let me read over the last few pages, and I'll see about getting you guys to Winterhold.

OOC: WB Verlox. :wavey: Hope everything is good for you now. Btw we made a OOc thread aswell... might be on the second page now, I didnt pay attention lol.

OOC: Welcome back Verlox. I, for one, enjoy this character far too much to let this RP die

IC:

Orlando had been woken early, well before the sun had risen, to allow his servants to break down his tent and prepare his food. After a brief breakfast, Orland went through his routine morning preparations. Marcus brought him a tub of hot, perfumed water. He washed himself before shaving and trimming his goate with his pocket mirror and his shaving blade. He plucked a few stray hairs from his eye brows and combed back his wet hair before applying grease to it, to hold it in place. Finally, he dressed in a new suit. He took his walking cane in hand and examined the finished product in the mirror. Perfection.

He walked over to the caravan and looked out over the desolate white landscape. The sun was about to rise and the encroaching light was warming the air slightly and bringing the white landscape to life. The sky had cleared after yesterdays blizzard. Orlando loved mornings like this and he looked forward to watching the sun rise. He smiled contentedly, appreciating the beauty of the dawning of a new day.

Juhanor - Campsite

Juhanor watched as the others started to wake up. Looks like everyone is refreshed, Juhanor thought, as he leaped off of the wagon, stretching his muscles. Juhanor's stomach started to growl, reminding him that he hadn't had anything to eat since last night. "Well, I am starving," Juhanor said to himself, as he walked over to the meat sack. Reaching into the sack, Juhanor pulled out a large hunk of bloody meat, and set it near the brilliant flames of the campfire. Waiting for the meat to cook, Juhanor started to remove his gear, placing it in a heap next to his already removed rope-sack.

Juhanor pranced down to the river that Trannigan had found last night. This is going to be cold... he thought, stripping off his black silk pants. Placing them on the ground, Juhanor dived into the river, and briskly cleaned off the odors of last night's events. Juhanor's head broke the surface of the icy water. "By Baan Dar, that is cold!" Juhanor leaped out of the water, and shook himself dry. One of the advantages of having fur, Juhanor smiled. Grabbing his pants, Juhanor quickly dressed and headed back to the campsite.

Juhanor inhaled deeply, his nose picking up the smell of the meat he had left to cook by the fire. The meat had become slightly burnt, but was certainly edible. Juhanor quickly scarfed down the caribou meat, enjoying the flavor of the delicious beast. Needs something more, though. Juhanor retreived his weapons, refastening his blades to his chest and thighs. Picking up his rope-sack, Juhanor re-tied all of the straps that held his bow and quiver in place, along with the pack itself. Reaching into his pack, Juhanor grabbed his container of moon sugar and unscrewed the cap.

"Mmmm," Juhanor growled as he consumed a small amount of the drug. Juhanor replaced the cap, and then returned the container to his bag. Feeling satisfied, Juhanor leaped back up to the top of the wagon, where Trannigan appeared to be surveying the landscape. "See anything good, Trannigan?" Juhanor asked as he peered off into the distance as well.

Game Master Post #3

Day dawns over a still forest of fresh, untouched snow. The blizzard that had raged, forcing your caravan to halt its progress has dissipated, replaced with a bright, clear day. As your compatriots rise, you notice that the caravan workers had long since risen, and are finishing up rehitching their oxen to the wagons. The smell of bacon and beans is in the air.

With Winterhold only a afternoon's march away, it won't be long before you are before the King, receiving the Royal Assent to enter the hallowed ruins of Saarthal.

OOC: So once ya'll are ready to go, we'll skip on over to Winterhold.